The present invention relates to clamping devices for garment hangers and the like. More particularly, the present invention relates to a one piece plastic garment clamp having a live hinge toggle joint.
Garment clamps are known and have been widely used for hanging garments. Examples of prior art clamping devices used with garment hangers are provided by U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,524,537; 3,203,061; and, 4,638,930. U.S. Pat. No. 2,524,537 describes a scissors like clamp arrangement by which the weight of the garment creates a downward force upon the clamp which in turn promotes a wedging action for retaining the garment in its clamped relationship with the clamp. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,203,061 and 4,638,930 show multi-part garment clamps which rely upon steel springs in order to provide the requisite clamping force.
Other clamps and clips for diverse purposes or applications other than garments specifically are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,616,497; 3,950,829; 4,338,747; and, 4,493,495. U.S. Pat. No. 3,616,497 describes a variety of one piece snap action clamping instruments intended for medical and surgical applications. U.S. Pat. No. 3,950,829 describes a three-part hanger clip wherein one of the members is a spring which slides down over two opposed jaw members thereby to urge the jaw members together. The clip is released when the spring member is slid upwardly so as to release the jaw members. U.S. Pat. No. 4,388,747 describes a one-piece molded toggle clamp which includes four live hinges in order to achieve the desired clamping action. U.S. Pat. No. 4,493,495 describes a variety of binding units which employ live hinge toggle joints.
While these references teach the use of flexible web ("live hinge") toggle joints, none of these references teach or suggest a practical release mechanism or arrangement in a one-piece clamp which enables reliable and ready reverse toggling release of the clamp. Thus, a hitherto unsolved need has arisen for a more effective one-piece plastic clamp, particularly for clamping garments to garment hangers, which overcomes the limitations and drawbacks of the prior art as exemplified by the foregoing prior art references.